In a different thread I called out another poster on here for complaining about a problem on this board but not going directly to the source of a lot of his complaints. After reading it, I thought about how hypocritical I was being by posting about the Superintendent's response to the Daily Herald article without going straight to the source. So, I decided to directly e-mail Dr. Riebock.

The contents of my e-mail and her response will remain between the two of us but I can tell you that my e-mail to her was almost identical to post I made in another thread earlier. (I believe I even included the same typos). I sent the e-mail around 2 o'clock and I received a response for her just a little bit ago.

Individuals such as Dr. Riebock, for better or for worse, take a lot of heat in the public. They're like the quarterback of the team. [Insert Rex Grossman joke here]. Granted, they get paid for it. However, when things are done properly they deserve to publicly commended as well.

Dr. Riebock responded in a professional, prompt and satisfactory manner. For that, she has continued to earn my respect and support. One who takes the time to call, write or e-mail those that are in positions of power with your concerns, will quickly learn a lot about those people and their priorities. In fact, I've learned a lot today.

I am going to contact Dr. Riebock as well. I've thought about doing this for some time but with my work schedule, my kids, and my housework, I really couldn't find the time. However, this school year, my calendar is much more open so I intend to contact her and attempt a face-to-face meeting. I too have found her to be personally sincere. I have never believed she was responsible for the mess that has become this whole financial/trust scenario in D41. She has a great opportunity to turn things around and I will offer my input and support if she wants to make it happen. Anyone else interested in meeting with her?

Great job, JRPotts.

So, if I read this correctly, a public forum, where the constituents go to address matters of public concern, gets the back of the hand. Yet, because you can email her directly and get a delphi response, that's good.

She can talk to you or me one on one until she is blue in the face, but when she runs from the public forum of questions, and then gives an interview about the same question to an entity she calls a vehicle for conversation, that's just plain spin.

Why bother having a public comment session at these meetings? To pat the public's hand, say "now, now" and give them a glass of warm milk?

I think the real reason you found it to be hypocritical is because somebody called you on the phone and told you it wasn't all that fair to pick on poor, defenseless Bitter Boy on the one hand for not going directly to the source of his problem, and not contacting Dr. Reebok directly on the other with questions. It's not like a light bulb went off in your head.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Clamato,

JRPotts:

I'm pretty new to this D41 thing. I just began learning about all the previous D41 controversy prior to this last referendum vote and really tried to keep an open mind prior to deciding whether to vote yes or no to it. I even spoke up at a Growing D41 meeting at the Civic Center and asked Ann directly in front of over 100 people when the district would answer my and other meeting attendee's questions about the Hadley super-size plan rather than just presenting one-sided information for 3 hours without any open discussion permitted. Her answer was that we are not planning this type of event. This troubled me a great deal at the time - open discussion promotes honesty in my book. In retrospect, I'm pleased to point out that I voted along with nearly 80 percent of other District 41 residents. I truly believe that my thorough research led me to make correct conclusions about the future plans and intentions of our current D41 board and administrators.

Your recent posts distress me. Facts are facts and the previous superintendent's record is public knowledge. The D41 board, past and present, has been arrogant and irresponsible. They have put us in the spot we are in today. The 2001 tax levy is a also matter of public record and there is little doubt that even if actual laws were not broken, the D41 board and our previous school superintendent behaved in an unacceptable and extremely unethical manner. D41 residents were not told of the phase-in tax intentions of our board and administration and they grabbed what they could while the getting was good. I believe that our previous D41 board president mentioned that very fact at this past board meeting just prior to going to closed session. Also, our extravagent 10 year, 116% funding growth (yes, Ms. Rado of School Week, extravagant!) has not, in my opinion, provided sufficient returns in improved education for the children of Glen Ellyn School District 41. Not even close. I'll go into my extensive D41 educational complaints and issues some other time.

Ann must have really sent you an incredibly powerful e-mail to cause you to swing yet again to the "benefit of doubt" side of this argument. There is an old saying I'd like you to consider; "Fool me once - shame on you! Fool me twice - shame on me!" Ann may have not been part of the previous guard, but her support of an extremely poorly conceived referendum plan concerns me a great deal. It's time for her to stop hiding from D41 residents and to start assuring us that she will be responsible and open from this point on. Stating that D41 does not comment on Daily Herald newspaper articles is not my idea of being accountable, open, or trustworthy by a long shot. It's just disappointing and sad, to say the very least.

I will again repeat my challenge from another post I made earlier today. I have it on good authority that District 41 has people monitoring this board closely. Please, D41 board members and administrators - take a deep breath and start answering some tough questions here and during school board meetings. My trust can be won back and I am willing to fund well thoughtout changes to our schools. But you are not going about this in the right way. Remember, providing the best education possible is for our kid's benefit. Please, do the right thing - it's important for all of us.

Finally if anyone has made it down this far and is still reading, can someone please tell me when Ann Riebock had time to address our extravagent D41 revenue growth with School Week between Monday night and Tuesday when the publication must have been printed? My sources inform me that Ms. Rado was not even at the D41 School board meeting on Monday night. Diane, please correct me if I am in error in this observation.

Vu2

Thanks, Vu2...good post. Not necessarily the part where you pick on JRP, as he is a dear friend, but the rest is spot on. 80% of the community is frustrated with the course this board is taking, the hiding of information and their refusal to answer the simplest of questions in a public forum. Nothing will improve until they start answering the tough questions that their stakeholders have. It's almost as though they are afraid to disappoint us with the wrong answers, so they just say nothing. Quite a confusing way to conduct a board elected by the community...and paid for by the community. Unfortunately, Dr. Reebok's actions, IMO, don't appear to be very helpful toward the process of cleaning things up.

I question whether this one-on-one contact is the best use of our highly-compensated superintendent's time. The questions and concerns stakeholders (sorry, couldn't help myself!) have are not new. While I'm sure Dr. Reibock is a vey nice person, why not present a clear and comprehensive statement of D41's position on these very public matters?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GEmom2:
I question whether this one-on-one contact is the best use of our highly-compensated superintendent's time. QUOTE]

I'm thinking maybe the Director of Communications does the authoring?

quote:

Originally posted by ohma:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by GEmom2:
I question whether this one-on-one contact is the best use of our highly-compensated superintendent's time. QUOTE]

I'm thinking maybe the Director of Communications does the authoring?

Oh, no. Can't be. The key is, did she use the word consensogram in a sentence?

quote:

Ann must have really sent you an incredibly powerful e-mail to cause you to swing yet again to the "benefit of doubt" side of this argument. There is an old saying I'd like you to consider; "Fool me once - shame on you! Fool me twice - shame on me!" Ann may have not been part of the previous guard, but her support of an extremely poorly conceived referendum plan concerns me a great deal. It's time for her to stop hiding from D41 residents and to start assuring us that she will be responsible and open from this point on. Stating that D41 does not comment on Daily Herald newspaper articles is not my idea of being accountable, open, or trustworthy by a long shot. It's just disappointing and sad, to say the very least.

Very well said and the message conveyed is on behalf of a majority of the District 41 taxpayers and those of us watching from the sidelines who experienced the same fate from our "once-trusted" administrations.

quote:

Not necessarily the part where you pick on JRP, as he is a dear friend

Gag me!

quote:

Originally posted by ronkas:


The key is, did she use the word consensogram in a sentence?

Consensogram


What is it?

A chart that shows the frequency of distribution of responses, measures a group's perceptions and allows individuals to view their responses in relation to the entire group by having students place stickers where they feel they are.

1. Can be used to identify the group’s perception of effort, commitment or understanding.
2. Can be used with a large group of people when time is limited.


What is its purpose?

Assess needs, attitudes, or knowledge, build consensus, focus the group, explore multiple perspectives and rate student’s understanding of a given topic. By observing where most of the stickers are, you can tell if there is group consensus on the issue.
The completed chart will indicate the degree of knowledge on the issue. The teacher can adjust her lesson based on the knowledge of the students and then the successive dots should be a different color like a pre and post baseline knowledge or opinion. Dots provide anonymity.


How does it work and who is responsible?

1. Clearly state the objective of the exercise.
2. Determine the degree of measurement. (Numerical Scale or Words like – I don’t know, I have basic info, I know answer, I understand why, I can explain to others)
3. Draw the chart with empty columns.
4. Have each person put a sticker above the number or words that they agree with.

The responsible person would be anyone who needs to measure/assess a group's knowledge/interest/attitude.


Things to remember

This technique can be overused because it is so simple.